The odds of fun are great

Published: Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 04:00 PM.

What are the odds that two things I love to do, but which are sometimes frowned upon by some, would be combined and presented in a way that I not only can participate openly, but can do it in the name of helping educate our children?

About 100 percent, it turns out, as next Saturday night the Science & Discovery Center of Northwest Florida is holding its annual Mad Scientist Soiree — its largest and most important fundraiser of the year — at the FSU-PC Holley Center. With a casino night theme and a raffle for a chance to win a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro if you are willing to roll the dice, so to speak, this year’s event is appropriately named, “What Are the Odds?”

Any excuse to dress up and eat “heavy hors d’oeuvres” is reason for excitement at my house. But the twist this year is that each ticket to the event brings with it $1,500 in chips to be used playing casino games. Sure, it’s not real money, but there is a chance to trade winnings for prizes, and that’s good enough for me.

The real twist, though, is a 50/50 raffle that could put someone in a 2013 Camaro. They’ve tried to explain it to me multiple times and I get this part: The person holding the winning ticket — they can be there in person or participating via Skype — can walk away with half the money raised or give it back to the center and play “Let’s Make a Deal.” It involves rolling dice, and if they turn up right the car is theirs.

All raffle ticket holders also get to roll the dice with a shot at winning $25,000.

There are multiple levels of cool associated with this year’s event, but on top of all that this year’s event is in special recognition of the facility’s founders, Mack and Eleanor Lewis.

The founders and early (and continued) backers of what was for many years known as the Junior Museum did more than set the stage for the transformation now under way there. They provided opportunities for kids and parents spanning decades.

What are the odds that two things I love to do, but which are sometimes frowned upon by some, would be combined and presented in a way that I not only can participate openly, but can do it in the name of helping educate our children?

About 100 percent, it turns out, as next Saturday night the Science & Discovery Center of Northwest Florida is holding its annual Mad Scientist Soiree — its largest and most important fundraiser of the year — at the FSU-PC Holley Center. With a casino night theme and a raffle for a chance to win a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro if you are willing to roll the dice, so to speak, this year’s event is appropriately named, “What Are the Odds?”

Any excuse to dress up and eat “heavy hors d’oeuvres” is reason for excitement at my house. But the twist this year is that each ticket to the event brings with it $1,500 in chips to be used playing casino games. Sure, it’s not real money, but there is a chance to trade winnings for prizes, and that’s good enough for me.

The real twist, though, is a 50/50 raffle that could put someone in a 2013 Camaro. They’ve tried to explain it to me multiple times and I get this part: The person holding the winning ticket — they can be there in person or participating via Skype — can walk away with half the money raised or give it back to the center and play “Let’s Make a Deal.” It involves rolling dice, and if they turn up right the car is theirs.

All raffle ticket holders also get to roll the dice with a shot at winning $25,000.

There are multiple levels of cool associated with this year’s event, but on top of all that this year’s event is in special recognition of the facility’s founders, Mack and Eleanor Lewis.

The founders and early (and continued) backers of what was for many years known as the Junior Museum did more than set the stage for the transformation now under way there. They provided opportunities for kids and parents spanning decades.

But like other “life-specific” non-profits, those opportunities and the overall mission of the facility are often lost on those not directly involved or affected. And what I mean by that is, as it applies to me, until I had a child I really didn’t have much need to be around the Junior Museum. I drove by it hundreds if not thousands of times over the years much like I used to drive by Oakland Terrace Park — it was just another part of the scenery.

When my son came along and the months added up enough to turn into a couple of years, I discovered the facility was a golden place to spend a rainy weekend day. On our first trip there my son and I arrived right after lunch and stayed until they closed, and he still wasn’t ready to leave. He played with light refractors, learned how primary colors blend to make new colors, rolled marbles around and around and around what I still call the “rolling marble exhibit” and spent at least an hour on the donated partial boat “floating” in the bay using a plastic rod and line with a piece of Velcro (or was it a magnet?) on one end to “catch” fake fish tossed around the floor.

We were hooked (forgive the pun) and became regulars, looking forward to special exhibits and walking the trails around the building during good weather.
But the Science and Discovery Center is more than that — always has been, really — and is now reaching out toward even broader horizons with a science- and exploration-based VPK Academy using a ScienceStart curriculum, and events such as the “Night at the Museum” Friday night event that drew more than 100 people in January, with more planned.

The center has always been about education. It is once again moving ahead of the curve to align itself with teaching our children the things future educators, and employers, want them to know.

Myself, I’m looking to be driving a new Camaro in about a week.

(Tickets for the event and raffle tickets are available online at www.scienceanddiscoverycenter.org or by calling 850-769-6128. The soiree is from 6:30-10 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the FSU-PC Holley Center, 4750 Collegiate Drive.)

Mike Cazalas is editor of The News Herald. Contact him at mmcazalas@pcnh.com or 850-747-5094.